This time Ye Liuyun had wised up; instead ofly agreeing, he tacked on another condition. “Then you not only have to refine a Soul-Sealing Orb for me, it also has to be able to split that dragon soul into several portions—otherwise no one else can absorb a soul that powerful!”

Chen Huoyang nodded vigorously. “Makes sense. A complete dragon soul is too strong; I couldn’t absorb it either. We’ll need to break it into pieces and absorb it bit by bit.”

“Can you actually refine something like that?” Ye Liuyun pressed.

“Of course—it’s simple! How many do you want?” Chen Huoyang answered with certainty.

“Make ten. Later on the army commanders can use them too.” When he said it, Ye Liuyun worried he might be asking for too many.

“No problem. And what about my dragon soul?” Chen Huoyang asked.

All these weapon-refining master knew Ye Liuyun never used slave seals on them and was never stingy, so whenever they spotted good resources they dared to ask him outright.

Uh-oh... I asked for too few. Ye Liuyun thought to himself, but still replied, “You can have one. But you’ll have to supply your own Soul-Sealing Orb.”

“Deal!” Chen Huoyang agreed at once.

“How long will it take? I’m inside the Dragon Grave right now; if we wait too long, I’m afraid those dragon souls will escape!” Ye Liuyun added a little scare tactic.

“I’ll start right now and have them ready by tomorrow,” Chen Huoyang said, immediately going off to gather materials.

“Finished in a day?” Ye Liuyun asked, curious.

“Of course. It’s basically just an array to imprison a soul—nothing difficult.” Chen Huoyang didn’t mind telling him.

“Alright, weapon-refining master really know how to fleece people. Something this simple cost me two dragon souls!” Ye Liuyun laughed.

Chen Huoyang laughed back. “If it’s so simple, why don’t you refine it yourself?”

“Uh... you get to work. I’ve got other things to do—bring them to me the moment they’re ready.”

Ye Liuyun beat a hasty retreat. Chen Huoyang wasn’t wrong; what was easy for him was beyond Ye Liuyun—and even Tong Xin at the moment.

Back in his quarters, Ye Liuyun kept condensing and compressing his soul power.

The next day Chen Huoyang called him over and handed him eleven Soul-Sealing Orbs. They looked almost identical to the ones Ye Liuyun already had.

Ye Liuyun refined one and probed its information—sure enough, it now had a function to control the release of soul power.

He released the Hunting Rat again and sent it to steal another dragon corpse.

This time he dragged the soul into the newly refined orb. With his current soul strength, three soul avatars were actually enough to pull a dragon soul inside, but to be safe he used six. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Many of these Void-stage dragon souls could still attack. He worried that if the Myriad-Soul Seal failed to restrain one, his own soul would suffer.

Everything went smoothly; the dragon soul was sealed. He tested the new feature, ordering the orb to release the soul’s power in batches.

The orb began siphoning power, releasing exactly one-third of the dragon soul’s total strength.

Satisfied, Ye Liuyun shoved that third back inside. The two portions, however, could no longer merge.

He didn’t mind; knowing the function worked was enough. He sealed another dragon soul inside the same orb and returned it to Chen Huoyang, telling him to send over the dragon soul belonging to Old Ancestor Skyfire.

Next he began filling the remaining orbs.

Five of them each received two dragon souls; those he delivered to the five commanders currently cultivating—Yu Xiaofeng among them—gifting them the orbs as well so they could store soul power later.

Into another orb he packed four dragon souls and sent it first to Lin Luoyi and Lin Xiyao, two souls apiece. Then he delivered two more souls to Tong Xin, instructing everyone to return the orbs once they’d finished absorbing.

After everyone had been settled, Ye Liuyun finally began to fill the Soul-Seal Orb he had prepared earlier. Once it was brimming, he tucked it away and switched to the orb Chen Huoyang had refined.

The remaining dragon souls he divided evenly among the last three Wind Soul Orbs—one for the demonic beasts, one for the women, and one kept in reserve. They were free to absorb as much as they could; if they ran short, they could always ask him for more.

Every last wisp of dragon soul was now his. The dragon corpses and primal cores followed, sealed inside a single Interspatial Ring.

He and his clone circled the graveyard once more, finally locating a cavern that held raw source energy: over a thousand units in total, with more than thirty of them being galactic-level sources.

That was the extent of the treasure. No pills or weapons remained; the local dragon clan had apparently feared those items might awaken into spirit demons over time.

Ye Liuyun waited two more days, letting the beasts strengthen their soul force, then summoned his clone, puppets, and Dragon Girl. Together they prepared to leave the tomb. Exiting still required the Dragon Girl to open the array.

But the moment they stepped out, they found the valley choked with devil flood-dragons.

Every flood-dragon from the seventh to the ninth rank glared at them with hungry eyes.

Ye Liuyun figured he’d already gained plenty on this trip. He told the Dragon Girl, “Ask them what they want. If they’re not dead-set on dying, I’m willing to let them live.”

The Dragon Girl roared, beginning the exchange.

The flood-dragon chieftain answered in kind.

“They want to know what’s inside,” she relayed to Ye Liuyun while still speaking with them. “They want us to take them in. They’re hoping to evolve into true dragons.”

Ye Liuyun had her pass on his reply: “Tell them the dragon corpses were already stolen before we arrived. If they want to enter, they can blast the array apart themselves—I’ll even point out the core nodes. The formation won’t withstand them for long.

“As for evolving into dragons, they’ll just have to grind it out; there’s nothing we can do. If any of them are willing, the strongest may follow me and serve. Perform well, and I’ll help them become demon beasts; when they attempt their dragon ascension, I’ll shield them from heavenly punishment.

“I’ve already shown more mercy than they deserve. If they still insist on fighting, I’ll wipe them out.

“Also, I’m taking several of their devil-crystal lodes. If they refuse, I’ll kill every last one and strip the valley bare.”

Everything he said was blunt truth—except for the part about the dragon corpses resting quietly in his ring.